I am interested in academia, appellate law and the judiciary, in that order (wish me luck). I am leaning towards Penn over NU, simply because I have a blind prejudice against Chicago. Also because the COL in Philly is a little better. I am very tempted by Vandy because 1) I like the South; 2) the debt would be slightly less obscene; and 3) they have lately made a big, fairly successful push to support students interested in academia.

With undergraduate debt and no desire for biglaw (unless Mayer Brown’s appellate practice comes calling), I anticipate having no option but to utilize LRAP/IBR/PSLF. As far as I can tell, law profs are gvt/non-profit employees and therefore eligible for PSLF. If I strike out there, and with the ACLU and the DOJ, I will just become a head-start preschool teacher.

My undergraduate debt is private, so another pro for Vandy is that, attending the school with the lowest COL, I might actually succeed in the harebrained scheme of paying off my private loans with federal (PSLF eligible) loan dollars. Again, wish me luck.

pinkskirt wrote:I am interested in academia, appellate law and the judiciary, in that order (wish me luck). I am leaning towards Penn over NU, simply because I have a blind prejudice against Chicago. Also because the COL in Philly is a little better. I am very tempted by Vandy because 1) I like the South; 2) the debt would be slightly less obscene; and 3) they have lately made a big, fairly successful push to support students interested in academia.

With undergraduate debt and no desire for biglaw (unless Mayer Brown’s appellate practice comes calling), I anticipate having no option but to utilize LRAP/IBR/PSLF. As far as I can tell, law profs are gvt/non-profit employees and therefore eligible for PSLF. If I strike out there, and with the ACLU and the DOJ, I will just become a head-start preschool teacher.

My undergraduate debt is private, so another pro for Vandy is that, attending the school with the lowest COL, I might actually succeed in the harebrained scheme of paying off my private loans with federal (PSLF eligible) loan dollars. Again, wish me luck.

So it’s really: Penn v. Vandy

I wouldn't count on getting any of those things out of either school (although Penn/NU will leave you in a somewhat better position to do so).

Since you "can't stand" Chicago, compare LRAPs between Penn and Vandy applicable to your interests. Without a good LRAP, paying off either school without biglaw would be a struggle.

And this is the key. To repay 170K (Vandy) or to repay 250K (Penn) appears equally impossible without biglaw or LRAP/IBR/PSLF. Thus, logically, I should attend Penn (better LRAP; slightly less miniscule chance at academia/fancy gvt work). But... doesn't everyone think that big number to the right is SCARY??

I guess my sampling of potential career options is kinda hilarious. The schizophrenic nature of my goals means: I basically just want to be a legal nerd somewhere, and I will do the best I can in LS and then take the best legal nerd job someone wants to give me. If that's law prof, then yay! If that's something I never expected, then... I'm like almost everyone else in the world. Just, which scenario will best realize my current set of (unlikely, ill-conceived, but given) goals?

I guess my sampling of potential career options is kinda hilarious. The schizophrenic nature of my goals means: I basically just want to be a legal nerd somewhere, and I will do the best I can in LS and then take the best legal nerd job someone wants to give me. If that's law prof, then yay! If that's something I never expected, then... I'm like almost everyone else in the world. Just, which scenario will best realize my current set of (unlikely, ill-conceived, but given) goals?

Penn or NU if you want to maximize your chances (however slim) at such preftigiouf legal work.

HeavenWood wrote:Penn or NU if you want to maximize your chances (however slim) at such preftigiouf legal work.

Yep. But the question that is gnawing at me is, will the extent to which Penn/NU maximize my chances actually make any difference in contrast to Vandy? Like, how if you buy 55 megamillion lottery tickets, the mathematicians will tell you that your odds don't actually go up. And if the mathematicians are right, wouldn't it make sense to do something a little more financially careful?

So the question becomes: Would Penn get me a whole lot more, or would Vandy be enough (since the chances are practically nil in any case)?

HeavenWood wrote:Penn or NU if you want to maximize your chances (however slim) at such preftigiouf legal work.

Yep. But the question that is gnawing at me is, will the extent to which Penn/NU maximize my chances actually make any difference in contrast to Vandy? Like, how if you buy 55 megamillion lottery tickets, the mathematicians will tell you that your odds don't actually go up. And if the mathematicians are right, wouldn't it make sense to do something a little more financially careful?

So the question becomes: Would Penn get me a whole lot more, or would Vandy be enough (since the chances are practically nil in any case)?

Your odds become better at Penn. If you are able to: be top ~5%, make LR, establish strong faculty ties, make ed. board, get your Note published, get a COA clerkship, get something good published, and then get a VAP (and work on publishing something else that's good)--then you actually are in pretty good shape coming from Penn. Vandy will make it harder to get a COA clerkship, to get a VAP, and to get a tenure track position after the VAP.

ETA: High grades at Penn will also give you a better shot at transferring to YH (maybe also try S?) after 1L.

But all of this warrants mentioning that none of this should be your main reason for choosing a school. Choose a school that you would be happy attending all 3 years and you would be happy with your job prospects if you ended up around median. Pipe dreams are nice to have, but don't make them your main goals (until at least you start accomplishing some of these steps).

Thanks to everyone who has posted positive/constructive comments so far. As for the rest of you: May you attain only the most attainable of goals.

If we are finished parsing the proabability of dreams (and I really request that we be), I would love some specific feedback from people with knowledge and thoughts regarding borrowing sticker at a T-14. And, even more specifically, borrowing sticker at a T-14 with alternative - read non-biglaw - career goals.

Are you doing it? Do you regret it? Do you think it's worth it? Are you scared like me, and what is your battle plan?

pinkskirt wrote:Thanks to everyone who has posted positive/constructive comments so far. As for the rest of you: May you attain only the most attainable of goals.

If we are finished parsing the proabability of dreams (and I really request that we be), I would love some specific feedback from people with knowledge and thoughts regarding borrowing sticker at a T-14. And, even more specifically, borrowing sticker at a T-14 with alternative - read non-biglaw - career goals.

Are you doing it? Do you regret it? Do you think it's worth it? Are you scared like me, and what is your battle plan?

Since the legal geek thing is far from a sure thing, and since loan repayments ARE a sure thing, and if indeed you are not interested in biglaw, then you should probably approach it like everyone else who's into PI - read researching LRAP programs - because LRAP is your likely hope of paying your loans.